Comfort
by bandanaye
Summary: After dating Yugi for some time, Yami starts to wonder if Yugi really loves him. One-shot. YYxY


A/N: Just a one-shot that came to mind. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

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He huddled in the safe corner, where he knew he could put down all of his defenses and become himself. Where he could fold onto himself and think about everything and nothing. Where he could self-wallow.

Yami pulled his knees to his chest, leaning onto the brick wall of his soul room. His chin rested atop his knees, his arms loosely hung around his shins. His heart clenched tightly as the memory spurred itself up in his mind again.

"_No! Pharaoh!" Yami felt something attach itself to his outstretched arm, trying to hold him back from playing the deceiving card in his hand._

_His hazed mind made him glare at his Aibou, trying to break the other's desperate hold. "Let go."_

_The smaller shook his head, his amethyst eyes pleading. "No, you don't know what you're doing!"_

"_Let go!"_

"_No! Listen to me! This card is affecting your mind!"_

"_We're going to lose the duel, Yugi! Trust me, it's the only way. I must do this, now let me go!" Yami wrenched his arm out of his Aibou's grasp, turning his attention back onto his opponent. _

"_Please, don't play that card," Yugi barely whispered, floating away from his traitorous partner. _

"_Now I play the Seal of Orichalcos!" Yami declared. A slot on his duel disk popped open, and Yami slipped the evil card inside, the slot closing back up. Power suddenly seemed to emit from his duel disk as the card activated, and the spirit yelled out, wondering vaguely, 'what have I done...?'_

_Not really aware of what was happening around him, Yami heard a faint cry as the seal forced Yugi back into the puzzle with a scream. _

It was a couple weeks after the Ceremonial Duel when both he and Yugi had admitted their hidden feelings to each other. Within the same hour, they both decided to hook up, blushes of embarrassment and happiness on their faces as they locked their fingers together.

Yami was happy to say the least, and so was Yugi, but now, Yami wasn't sure whether or not Yugi loved him. He knew it was a silly thing to think as Yugi had proclaimed his love for him many times a day, but...their past experiences had started to haunt him to say the least.

The worst was when Yugi had willingly taken his deserved spot in the Orichalcos seal. It made the ex-spirit feel horrible even though they both had talked it over many times, but Yami still felt this way whenever he thought of the dreadful memory.

How could Yugi possibly love him? He had disrespected not only his and Yugi's monsters, and himself, but he had disrespected Yugi in the most unforgiving ways.

_The Seal of Orichalcos started to shrink in, ready to take his soul as he had lost the duel because of his selfish ways. Yami hunched over limply, his eyes glazed over as he regretted his previous actions. _

_Suddenly, he was pushed, and his attention returned as he turned around to see his Aibou standing in the closing circle with him. _

"_Yugi! Don't!"_

_The smaller smiled at him sadly, warmth still in his amethyst eyes. "The seal only needs one of us, Mou Hitori no Boku, and I'm letting it take me instead." So selfless, to give himself up to such evil that he had succumbed to. _

_Yami watched helplessly as the green light became brighter, capturing Yugi within it's grasp, carrying his soul off to an unknown place. _

_The whole time, that sad smile was still plastered to his face. _

"_No!! Yugi!!"_

_But it was too late. The seal had faded his Aibou out, making him disappear into thin air, the green light beaming upward before disappearing all together. _

_The last thing Yami knew was that a hole had carved itself deep inside his already aching heart before collapsing. _

What if Yugi was faking his love for him to get back at him for his selfish way, just disguising himself as a lover? No, Yugi wouldn't do that...would he?

These types of thoughts were what spiraled the ex-spirit into despair. They constantly plagued his mind, taunts being thrown at him.

_He doesn't love you..._

_How could someone even like you for what you have done..._

_You don't deserve his love and respect..._

Suddenly, a knock on his door echoed, and Yami looked up, startled. Through their link, he could sense that it was Yugi, and he stood up from his spot on the floor. Hopefully his emotions hadn't slipped through.

Opening the door he knew Yugi was at, he was met with his Aibou, the other's face filled to the brink with relief and a small amount of worry.

"There you are! I've been looking for you, Mou Hitori no Boku!" Yugi said with a smile, stepping into the room as the other backed up to let him in. "I was starting to get worried."

When Yami didn't respond, Yugi's cheerful smile dropped into a frown and he hugged the other. "Is everything alright? It's been a while since you've come here."

Yami feigned a smile, hugging back to make it seem like nothing was wrong. "Don't worry, Aibou, I'm fine."

But Yugi knew him better than that. "Yami...you know you can't lie to me. Something's wrong." He stood on his toes to give his dark a peck on the cheek. "Tell me," he urged gently, knowing that Yami was just being stubborn.

"It's nothing, Aibou," Yami repeated flatly, looking at the slightly ajar door ahead. "I promise."

"Mou Hitori no Boku..." Yugi half whined, pulling back to look into those crimson eyes as if the answer as to why Yami was hesitant was in them. "Please...? You know it'll bother me if you don't tell," he teased lightly, frowning as his yami sighed softly in submission, taking his hand and leading him over to where he was previously sitting.

With their hands still connected, both lovers leaned against the stone wall, Yugi wondering faintly why Yami hadn't wrapped an arm around his waist like he always did. It was almost natural for the other to do that, so something must be up.

"Aibou...Yugi..." Yami started, his eyes avoiding the other purposely. His voice seemed to be higher pitched than usual, and Yugi furrowed his brow. Whatever Yami had to say, he would listen.

Lips pressed together nervously, a trait the ex-spirit did not like to show. His heart pounded furiously in anticipation, and he absently clenched Yugi's hand tighter within his own as he asked, "...do you love me?"

Just because of their mind link, Yugi could tell that Yami was being serious. This wasn't some practical joke, or something to start a make-out session. A smile graced the smaller's lips as he turned to his dark, a hand darting out to catch the other's face so that they could look at each other.

"Of course I love you, Mou Hitori no Boku," Yugi said meaningfully, his smile widening. "How could I not love you, you mean everything to me..."

Unfortunately, Yami didn't seem convinced for some reason, and the light's smile faltered. "Why do you think that I don't love you?" he wondered aloud, wanting to help the other. Feelings of regret, hurt and guilt were all Yami was giving him through the link to help him out.

"How...how could you love someone who's selfish?" Yami asked, adverting his gaze away from him and looking at his outstretched legs. "How could you love someone whose true colors show that they're fake?"

Yugi's heart felt stabbed as he knew exactly where Yami was coming from. He always knew that Yami had never really forgiven himself for what he'd done during that tragic duel, but Yugi was willing to help the other through it.

"Yami, I love you with all my heart, it doesn't matter to me what you did in the past. It's all behind us and we should be focusing on what's happening now," Yugi explained, leaning closer to the other.

"But I ignored your judgment, just to win a game! A stupid game!" Yami said suddenly, his throat clenching, the back of his jaws creating a warm but stinging sensation. He could feel his eyes water, and he turned his whole body away so Yugi wouldn't see him if a tear should escape crimson orbs.

Small hands cradled his shoulders, Yugi's sad voice cooing at him to say that it wasn't his fault and that he understood the risks that were at hand at the time.

"You shouldn't get worked up about this, Mou Hitori no Boku," Yugi soothed, biting his lips with some fear when he heard the other sniffle. It was a rare event when Yami cried, and usually it meant something really, really horrible had happened. "You're just overreacting."

He tried to pull Yami around to face him, but the other's pride prevented Yugi from seeing his lover's tear tracked face. Instead, Yugi settled with holding their hands tightly together, gently leaning the side of his face on his dark's shoulder.

"I don't deserve you, Aibou...for what I did..." Yami said steadily, obviously trying to compose himself as best as he could through his sobs. "I did a horrible thing to you...I deserved to be in your place...I should've had my soul taken...not you!"

As Yugi listened, he somewhat felt at a loss for what he should be doing. He wanted to soothe his yami, help him through this, but at the same time, knew that the other was too stubborn to ask for any real help. He swallowed as his heart ached at the other's words, softly whispering that none of it was true...that he had simply made a mistake.

Time passed, and Yugi listened to what Yami was saying, thinking that it was better that his other got it all out to reduce his stress. Throughout his whole rambling, Yugi whispered countless times that he loved his Mou Hitori no Boku, and that nothing would ever change that.

It wasn't until the ex-spirit started to repeat himself did Yugi almost forcefully pull his dark around, inwardly gasping at the wetness on Yami's face. He smiled nonetheless, bringing the other into a tight embrace, biting his lip again when he noticed Yami's arms lay limp by his sides. He only hugged harder.

"Mou Hitori no Boku...Yami...how could you think this way?" Yugi asked a little desperately, wondering how these thoughts ended up in the other's mind. "We've been over this issue many times before, and I know for a fact that you haven't fully forgiven yourself for what you did, but...you need to start letting go..."

"I don't know if I can," Yami mumbled almost inaudibly into his shoulder, his body almost going slack in Yugi's hold.

Licking his lips, Yugi pulled them apart, his hands on Yami's shoulders, unsure if the other would be able to support himself in his state.

"Of course you can, Yami...you're a strong person. You've been able to pull through the most amazing things ever since I met you. You never gave up hope even when I did...you always saw the best in everything and never let anyone down," he said sternly yet as gentle as he could. He wanted to get the message through to the other, and he knew he had to be strong for his lover now.

"But...I love you with everything I have, Yami...and I don't want to see you let yourself down because of what happened long ago. It's unhealthy to brood and plague yourself with these thoughts, and I don't want to see you hurt yourself," he continued truthfully. "I love you."

The ex-spirit remained silent, resting his head on Yugi's comforting shoulder, using the back of his hand to wipe away the evidence of tears. "Aibou," he started breathily, disengaging them. He stared intently into those soft amethyst eyes only Yugi could have and continued, "I'm sorry. You're...you're right."

Lips descended over his in a flash, and Yami tensed a little before kissing back. They parted, Yugi smiling at him sweetly. The taller smiled slightly, his chest heaving in exhaustion. "I love you too," he said quietly, looking down as if he was embarrassed by his own words. "I didn't know what I was thinking," he added.

Yugi enveloped them into a hug again, whispering back that everything was okay and that he forgave him. "Are we okay now?" Yugi said with a bright expression, taking Yami's hand in his for reassurance. The other nodded with a smile of his own, and Yugi stood up, taking his boyfriend with him.

"C'mon, you must be exhausted, and I think you need sleep," Yugi suggested, walking out of the ex-pharaoh's soul room to the hallway that divided their souls apart. Once out in the hallway, Yugi silently willed them to go back to the real world, purposely winding up in their shared bedroom.

Yugi pulled Yami along to his bed, his yami giving him a questioning look. "If you sleep in my bed, I'm sure you'll be more comfortable, especially at a time like this," Yugi explained, watching as the other nodded appreciatively. Yugi watched with interest as Yami slipped off his shoes and ditched the leather shirt and pants for more comfortable clothes before sliding underneath the blue covers, turning on his side to look up at him.

Crimson eyes stared up at him, warmth coming back slowly to them. "Thank you, Aibou," he thanked with a small smile, watching as Yugi knelt down to give him an Eskimo kiss.

"I love you too, now, sleep," Yugi cooed, "I'll be up after I make sure the shop is all closed up."

The dark nodded, already drifting off as Yugi began to soothingly run his fingers through his tri-colored hair. "I love you, Yugi," he said sleepily, Yugi's trick of soothing fingers lulling him to sleep within minutes.

Yugi smiled sweetly at his sleeping Mou Hitori no Boku, rising to his feet, but not before placing another soft kiss on Yami's mouth. He then backed out of the room, closing the door behind him, thoughts of closing the shop up in mind.

However, as he was sure the door closed all the way, the light leaned back on the wood, shutting his eyes close. Breathing deeply, he mentally sent reminders of horrible past memories through their link, a smirk coming to his lips as he knew Yami would start thinking about them in his dreams.

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A/N: Yes, I'm leaving it like this. No sequel. I really liked writing this...so much fun torturing Yami and making him the weaker one between the two. Thanks for reading and please review!!


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